The Minnesota Vikings received some needed reinforcements coming out of the bye week — but that came with the detriment of sidelining one of the team’s greatest success stories of the Kevin O’Connell era.
With Blake Cashman out for five weeks with a hamstring injury, veteran linebacker Eric Wilson emerged as a reliable replacement and green-dot signal caller for the defense.
Cashman returned to action in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles, and while the initial 53-man roster would suggest Wilson would be relegated to backup duties, it was third-year linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. who did not play a single defensive snap against the Eagles.
Undrafted in 2023, Pace surfaced as an every-down starter immediately but has fallen out of favor with Brian Flores after only playing special teams on Sunday.
Through the first five games of the season, Pace led the NFL with 10 missed tackles. He is currently graded 122nd among 140 inside linebackers by Pro Football Focus (PFF) with a 45.5 overall grade.
Vikings Veteran Blake Cashman Offers Wise Words to Ivan Pace Jr.
After the loss to the Eagles, Cashman was asked if he spoke with Pace, who was asked to take a step back into a special teams role for the Week 7 matchup.
Cashman offered wise words to 24-year-old linebacker.
“He’s done a lot of wonderful things here and he will continue to do great things. I just told him to keep keep plugging away,” Cashman said in the locker room after the game.
“Don’t get discouraged. I actually shared some stories with him about myself and my journey and other guys I’ve played with. I’m not going to name names, but I’ve played with some guys that ended up being all pro and were kind of in similar situations as as him. So, I say keep going because you never know how things can shake out in a season.”
Ivan Pace’s Fall From Grace Comes With Changes to Vikings Defense
After an impressive rookie year, Pace was named to PFF’s All-Rookie Team for the 2023 season.
“One of two undrafted players on this list, Pace has been the perfect fit for Brian Flores’ defense in Minnesota. His 77.2 overall PFF grade leads all qualified rookie linebackers and ranks 17th in the league,” PFF’s Dalton Wasserman wrote. “Pace’s trademark blitzing ability has carried over from his days at the University of Cincinnati. His 22.9% pass-rush win rate is the second highest among 85 linebackers with at least 20 pass-rush snaps this season.”
Pace’s greatest strength is his pass rushing, but with more capable pass rushers on the defensive interior and the deployment of three outside linebackers at times, the inside linebacker’s role in Flores defense hinges more on being a strong support in the run game and in coverage.
Flores is also blitzing less this season, posting a 30.8% blitz rate that is down from 38.9% in 2024.
Pace is still an incredible find for the new Vikings regime that didn’t have to spend a draft pick. However, so long as Wilson and Cashman are healthy, he likely retains only a situational pass rusher role.
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